Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Koran is very clear that “in matters of faith there shall be no coercion.”

And it stresses that “if it had been the will of your Lord that all the people of the world should be believers, then all the people of the earth would have believed! Would you now compel humankind against their will to believe?”

Now comes a Muslim leader, Cholid Ridwan, a chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema, or MUI, who warns the President of Indonesia that if he does not outlaw Ahmadiyah, an Indonesian-based Islamic sect, the council will issue a fatwa, or religious edict, prohibiting Indonesian Muslims from voting for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the upcoming presidential elections.

Ahmadiyah is a sect of Indian origin, with some links to Sufism. It is controversial because of its claim that its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the last of the prophets, contrary to the basic tenet of Islam that the final of the prophets is Muhammad.

The sect is not new to controversy. In the 1930s, it was rumored that independence hero and former President Sukarno had become a propagator of Ahmadiyah. He denied it in writing, but in the process he wrote a few words of praise for the good behavior of its adherents. He was emphatic, however, that he was not one of them.

Today there are Muslim circles in Indonesia that clamor for an outright ban against the sect. That is old news. What is new is the election-related threat of a fatwa against the president if he does not outlaw the sect.

Democracy is not just about elections. Even more essential is the way minorities are treated by the majority.

Another Muslim leader, Umar Shihab, also a chairman of the MUI, says that Cholid speaks only for himself. Furthermore, he says no such fatwa is being prepared. No threat of one. But, in effect he says that it would be nice indeed if the president did outlaw the sect.

The presidential spokesman, Andi Mallarangeng, says that this is just one more sign that everyone has caught election fever. “We don’t need to worry about it at all,” he said.

What indeed is there to worry about then? We perhaps have more urgent things to concern ourselves with, like corruption in the House of Representatives and getting the economic stimulus package up and running.

There is, of course, the question of what Islam really teaches about tolerance, about the command against coercion on matters of faith. Where does it say in the Koran or in the Hadith that an exception has to be made in the case of the Ahmadiyah? The Muslim faithful may wish to obtain some clarity on that.

Since I am not a Muslim, I should let this be a matter among Muslims. But as an Indonesian, I am most concerned about the political implications of the issue. And when I say political, I don’t mean electoral politics. President Yudhoyono, I think, will win or lose the election on the basis of his performance as leader of the nation, fatwa or no fatwa.

What I mean is Indonesian democracy. I mean Indonesia’s aspiration and claim to be the world’s third largest democracy. I mean the pride that the Indonesian people derive from our international reputation as living proof that Islam, democracy and modernization can flourish together.

I mean human rights. Freedom of thought. Freedom of speech. Freedom of association.

Democracy is not just about elections. Even more essential to democracy is the way minorities are treated by the majority — whether their rights are held sacred or trampled upon.

We take pride in our tradition of m usyawarah untuk m ufakat , or consultations leading to consensus, a process in which all views are spoken for and all interests are taken into account. But all I have been hearing about Ahmadiyah are the threats against them.

--

Wim Tangkilisan is the president and editor in chief of the Jakarta Globe.

Your photographer depicted the demonstration demanding the dissolution of the Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah in Indonesia (The Jakarta Post, March 6, p. 4). As you published the photograph, I should like to comment on it.

Islam teaches us to behave and to speak politely. Prophet Muhammad's whole life is an example of this. He never spoke harsh words nor uttered foul language either to his followers or his enemies. I think Muslims in Indonesia must strictly follow this example, especially when speaking of something about which he has no knowledge.

The Ahmadiyah opponents suppose that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died in an unaccepted way. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a claimant to the Messiah and the Mahdi.

After his declaration to Mahdihood, he was opposed by most of those around him. He was even boycotted and excommunicated. When he was about to breathe his last, it was too far for his opponents to go to visit him and watch the way he died, since they had never come near him or sat with him or had any conversation with him before.

Logically, therefore, none of his opponents knew how he died; only his followers, who happened to be present at the time, knew the truth. His opponent's claims about what happened, therefore, are absolutely false and misleading.

The fact Ahmadiyah opponents demand that Ahmadiyah followers not use any Islamic terminology is proof that Ahmadiyah has been Islamic from the beginning.

Belief in the coming of the Mahdi and the Messiah is also an Islamic tenet. The dispute is, in fact, about the interpretation of Surah Al-Ahzab verse 40; Ahmadiyah interpretation of it is supported by the Arabic lexicon and Arabic usage.

To reject it is tantamount to rejecting the whole of the Arabic lexicon. Thus it is not an issue of right or wrong, but a matter of like and dislike. If one does not like the Ahmadiyah interpretation, one is free to do so but express it in a proper manner. Let us agree to disagree, and pray for this country's unity in diversity.

A 'Way Out' for Ahmadiyah By Dr Syamsuddin Arif Published on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en) Friday, May 16, 2008 Fake Prophet: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Ahmadiyah (died 1908). Muhammad Iqbal saw Ahmadiyah as part of the colonial ...

Article: http://inci73.multiply.com/reviews/item/42

--By Dr Syamsuddin ArifPublished on The Brunei Times (http://www.bt.com.bn/en)Friday, May 16, 2008

"I do not believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a prophet, nor do I accept him as a mujaddid [religious reformer]," wrote the late Ir. Soekarno in his major book, Under the Banner of Revolution (2nd imp. Jakarta, 1963, vol.1, p.345).

For the past three months, Indonesia has been deeply involved in an endless debate on Ahmadiyah. Ir. Soekarno, the first Indonesian President, was neither the first nor the sole Muslim figure to express such unfavorable view.

Long before him, the celebrated thinker Sir Muhammad Iqbal when asked by Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, concerning Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's propaganda, emphatically replied that "no Revelation the denial of which entails heresy is possible after Muhammad. He who claims such a revelation is a traitor to Islam" (Islam of And Ahmadism, repr. Islamabad, 1990, p.8).

Iqbal saw striking similarities between the Ahmadiyah movement in India and the Babism in Persia (Iran), whose founder also claimed to be a prophet. Because their creed was political servility, both movements were supported by the British and the Russian as part of the colonial 'split and rule' program to keep the Muslims fighting among themselves.

If the Russian government allowed Babism to establish their own mosque in Ishqabad, Turkmenistan, the British let the Ahmadiyah found their mission centre in Woking, Surrey.

According to Iqbal, Ahmadism or Qadianism --so he preferred to call it-- would only bring people back to stupidity. Its chief mission is but "to carve out, from the Ummat of the Arabian Prophet, a new ummat for the of Indian prophet." (page 2)

A prominent Indian scholar, Syed Abul Hasan Ali an-Nadwi, having made an extensive study of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's life and "evolution" from a simple student turning into a hero (1880), a "promised messiah" (1891) and a self-proclaimed prophet (1910), concluded that the Ahmadiyah movement has contributed nothing but adding burden to the Muslim people, dividing them, and rendering their problems even more complicated (See: Qadianism: A Critical Study, repr. Lucknow 1980, p. 155).

That the essence of Ahmadiyah lies in accepting Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's claim to prophethood is attested by Yohanan Friedman of Hebrew University of Jerusalem in his book, Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and Its Medieval Background, (Berkeley, 1989, p.119, 181 & 191).

Ahmadiyah was first brought into Indonesia sometime in 1925 by several students from Sumatra who had been converted and trained in Qadian, India. To help spread their dogma, the mission has published bulletins such as "Sinar Islam" (The Light of Islam - sic!), "Studi Islam" and "Fathi Islam". The resentment generated by the Ahmadi missionary activities used to drag them several times into an open debate 1933 in Bandung and other cities (See: Fawzy S. Thaha, Ahmadiyah Dalam Persoalan, Singapura, 1982).

Followers of Ahmadiyah had been declared aberrant and infidel (murtad - apostate) by Muslim scholars at the Fifth Congress of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in 1930 in Pekalongan as well as by the Ulama Association of East Sumatra in 1935.

After a long period of silence, the Ahmadiyah question resurfaced in late 1970s and early 1980s following the Pakistani parliament's resolution to treat the Ahmadis as non-Muslim under the law.

In 1980 the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Hamka issued a fatwa stating that Ahmadiyah is outside the fold of Islam, and its adherents apostate.

The decree was recently reaffirmed in an official statement signed by MUI chairman Prof. Dr. H. Umar Shihab and its secretary Prof. Dr. H.M. Din Syamsuddin. In addition, the Ministry of Religious Affairs in 1984 had also warned the Muslims against the danger of Ahmadiyah.

Finally, in April 16, 2008 the Supervision Committee on Cults and Sects (Bakorpakem), made known its findings that the Jemaat Ahmadiyah Indonesia (JAI) has truly deviated from Islam and so urged the Minister of Religious affairs, Attorney General, and Minister of Home Affairs to take action against it.

Indeed, according to Atho Mudzhar, senior officer at the Religious Ministry and chief of the investigation team, during three months Bakorpakem had been observing 55 Ahmadiyah communites 33 districts. As many as 35 members of the team met 277 members of Ahmadiyah. Nothing has changed among them doctrinally, since they still affirm that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (MGA) is a prophet after Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

They also believe that Tadzkirah is a collection of revelation received by MGA.

Advocates and followers of Ahmadiyah often put forth three arguments to support their position. First, an Ahmadi is also a Muslim because they have the same syahadat (faith declaration).

Try to compare this with the statement that the "orang Ahmadiyah" (Ahmadi man) is no different from "orangutan" because both are "orang" (human). Of course such thing is unacceptable.

It is clear in this case what matters is not their similarity, but rather their difference. What distinguishes orangutan from an Ahmadi is not so much its being-'orang' as its 'utan' characteristic. By the same token, what makes Ahmadiyah followers differ from the Muslims is not their apparent similarity in creed and rituals, but rather their belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

Second, it has been argued that like all other Indonesia citizens, the Ahmadiyah followers have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion so that to ban Ahmadiyah is to violate human rights and to act against the Constitution.

There is a logical twist here. To be sure, Article 29 of the very same Universal Declaration of Human Rights unequivocally states that in the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

This means that abuse of freedom is not allowed which would disrupt order or bring damage to religion. Now what MGA and his Ahmadiyah did is like "building a new house inside someone's house" --that is to say, founding a religion within religion.

Their affirmation of MGA's prophethood is an insult to Islam. Consequently, as Dr Tony P. Chi points out in his study (1973, p.134-5): "Ahmadiyya preaching and propagation have instigated unrest and dissension in the Muslim world." Therefore, the only solution to Ahmadiyah problem is to expell it from the House of Islam and become a new religion like Mormonism in the United States.

Finally, to the suggestion that compassion should be preferred to violence in dealing with the Ahmadiyah, we reply that this advice is badly needed by the American and Israeli governments vis-a-vis the people of Iraq and Palestine.

"Abu Bakr As-Siddiq is the most compassionate among my folk (arhamu ummati)," said Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Yet when there arose a group of apostates, he did not hesitate to take action against them.

Islam guarantees one's freedom to embrace -- not to spoil, any religion. As for the Quranic verses: "There is no compulsion in religion" (translation of the Quran surah Al-Baqarah: 256) and "For you, your religion, and for me, my religion" (surah Al-Kafirun:6), these are referring to religions outside Islam. Thus, Prophet Muhammad told the impostors to choose either to repent or be punished to death (See: Imam Al-Mawardi, al-Hawi al-Kabir, vol.13, p.109).

* The writer is an assistant professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia

A couple of weeks ago we saw a misleading headline: “Islam Overtakes Catholicism as World’s Biggest Faith.” Statistics published by the Vatican show that Catholicism is the religion of 17.4% of the world’s population while Islam has grown to 19.2%, due largely to a faster birthrate.

What is misleading about this is treating Islam as a monolith without treating Christianity the same way. If you cumulated all the Christians together, their 33% market share would easily outstrip Islam. But lumping together Northern Ireland Catholics and Protestants, or Croatian Catholics and Serbian Orthodox, or Pastor Hagee and the Pope, produces a fairly meaningless number. It is just as meaningless to lump together the Sunni and Shiite factions of Islam, which our soldiers in Iraq can tell you are busily butchering one another, with Americans caught in the crossfire.

Antagonism between Sunni and Shiite arose in the earliest days of Islam. The Umayyad dynasty that

ruled the Arab-conquered world after the deaths of Muhammad and his immediate companions was not terribly religious. Christianity, Judaism, and even Paganism continued to flourish, and no attempt was made to impose the Islamic law known today as “Sharia” in Umayyad territories. Muhammad himself was accorded little honor; his daughters made poor marriages, and his funeral bier was auctioned off for cash. Caliph Alwaleed Ibn Yazid sneered that “Muhammad the Hashemite manipulated people by his claim that he was a prophet, without true inspiration or an inspired book.” Caliph Walid II is said to have stuck the Koran on a lance and shot it to pieces with arrows – quite similar to what an American staff sergeant is now in trouble for doing with a rifle, forcing his superiors into grotesque groveling – literally having to kiss the Koran to make amends. Perhaps the sergeant was simply a student of Arab history?

The clergy grew increasingly critical of the Umayyads. In 680, a serious revolt against the caliph broke out in Iraq, led by Muhammad’s grandson Husayn ibn Ali. Husayn was defeated and killed at the battle of Kerbela, but his supporters never gave up; their spiritual descendants are today’s Shiites. The Umayyads were later overthrown by Arabian clergy, who helped establish the much more religious-dominated Abbasid dynasty. It was the Abbasids, centuries after Muhammad’s death, who elevated him to the lofty status he enjoys in the Sunni world today. One might think that the Abbasid clergy in Arabia would have patched things up with the Shiites in Iran and Iraq, but that would have meant sharing power; does any reader know the Arabic translation for “fat chance”?

What is less generally known is that there are other factions inside Islam as well. In Turkey, for example, there is a large sect called the “Alevis,” with 15 to 20 million adherents – about the same number as America’s largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptists. Alevis are Islamic in that they accept the idea that Muhammad was God’s prophet, but they do not attend sex-segregated mosques on Fridays, as Muslims do. Instead, Alevi men and women gather on Thursdays, where they mix their prayers with dance to help them experience mystical union with Allah (and, for the lucky, other types of union after the service). The women wear red headdresses, a vestige of pre-Islamic fire worship days. Their veneration for Husayn ibn Ali leans them toward Shiism, but of course the Iranian mullahs will have nothing to do with them – Alevi principles like “The important thing is not religion, but being a human being” have no place in revolutionary Iran.

The Alevis are old, and represent a grafting of Islam onto pre-existing Paganism. A much newer sub-group has sprung up around the 19th century teachings of one Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to have had one-on-one chats with God in the same way Muhammad did, and thus to be a new prophet. Just as the Jews of the 2nd century BC decided that they were finished with having to deal with any more disruptive new prophets, the Muslims in the 9th century insisted that Muhammad was the end of the line, prophet-wise, and that God was too busy, too ornery, or too tired to send us any more. So the Ahmadiyas, as Mirza’s followers were called, had to be heretics.

Ahmadiya differences from mainstream Islam include, among other things, their belief that Jesus did not die on the cross. He simply fainted, awoke later in the tomb, and then hightailed it for Kashmir, where he died of old age under the name Yuz Asaf. Not so absurd a theory, in light of Mark 15:44: “And Pilate marveled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead,” because Pilate knew that death by crucifixion normally took days, not hours.

New prophets run counter to the spirit of the whole Muslim enterprise. The word “Islam” itself means “submission,” a concept implying that “B” is unquestioningly to do exactly what “A” tells him to do. Since God is not actually around to do the telling, “A” is the gang of preachers who proclaim themselves to be God’s mouthpiece. Such a model has no place for new factions, which by definition represent a departure from what “A” has been saying all along, thereby insulting A’s authority.

Thus, both the Ahmadiyas and the Alevis are endlessly harassed by mainstream Muslims, even in allegedly moderate Muslim states like Turkey and Indonesia. In Turkey, Alevi taxpayers pay through the nose to subsidize official Sunni Islam, with free electricity for Sunni mosques, government-paid salaries for imams, and brainwashing of Turkish children by promotion of Sunnism in state schools; but Alevi clerics and churches are never allowed to feed at the government trough. In democratic Indonesia, the government is responding decisively to protests last month by thousands of Sunnis organized by something called the Islamic Defender Front. “We demand the government outlaw Ahmadiyah’s teachings immediately,” said the marchers; others burned down an Ahmadiya mosque and ransacked a school while chanting “Burn, burn!” and “Kill, kill!”. Outlawing Ahmadiyah’s teachings is exactly what Indonesia’s religious affairs ministry is now preparing to do, based on a recommendation from its “Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society.”

The curious thing about all these factions is that every churchgoer in the world implicitly believes that God’s will is accepted by only a small minority of the people on the planet. Even if you view the biggest single cult, Catholicism, as a monolith (a highly debatable proposition), that leaves a minimum of 82.6% of the world’s population as being just flat-out wrong about what God wants; for any other sect, the misguided proportion of the world is even greater. The God who created the universe and guides its every action puts up with that kind of disrespect?

Sunday, May 18, 2008

In the first few days after an Ahmadiyah mosque in Parakan Salak, Sukabumi, West Java, was burned down by a mob of hardliners at the end of last month, Siti Masitoh had to stop her 6-year-old son from running out from their modest house to the mosque for dusk prayers.

Locking the door, the wife of the leader of Parakan Salak's Jemaah Ahmadiyah, Asep Saifudin, told her son in tears that the Al-Furqon mosque was no longer there.

"It's like he forgets the mosque has been burned down," Masitoh said last Sunday.

When he does remember, he cries and asks his parents to rebuild the mosque, which is now in ruins. Its roof and dome collapsed in the fire.

On the evening of April 28, a group calling itself the Jamaah Al Mubalighin Communication Forum set fire to the mosque, which belongs to the Ahmadiyah sect.

Ahmadis believe Punjabi Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who founded the Ahmadiyah group in 1889, is a prophet and also the messiah.

Terror and intimidation by hardliners were not directed at Ahmadiyah alone. Violent attacks were also faced by other sects that were deemed "deviant" by the Indonesian Ulema Council. Mobs harassed and attacked members of the Kingdom of Eden sect in Jakarta founded by Lia Aminudin, who claimed to receive revelations from the Angel Gabriel.

In Bogor, mobs also intimidated members of Al-Qiyadah Al-Islamiyah, founded by Ahmad Mossadeq, who claimed to be a prophet and the messiah.

Under the 1945 Constitution, the state "guarantees all persons freedom of worship, each according to his own religion or belief".

Legal Aid Institute director Patra M Zen, a member of a National Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Belief, said the state should not intervene in the religious life of its citizens.

"We're seeing a step back in religious tolerance and pluralism in SBY's time," he said referring to Yudhoyono's popular nickname.

"What we need to hear from the President is a firm statement that the state will create religious tolerance, uphold the rule of law, and facilitate religious dialogue between groups," he said.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Cimahi Mayor Itoc Tochiya on Thursday defended his decision to ban the Islamic sect Ahmadiyah from congregating, saying he acted in the interests of security.

He said the ban was issued in order to maintain a peaceful atmosphere in the municipality following increased public protests against the group and its activities.

The ban on the group’s activities, he said, should be viewed as a protective measure for Ahmadiyah members, since the group’s teachings clashed with that of the majority of Muslims and could thus spark public disorder.

“Don’t look at it from the religious tolerance aspect. We must maintain security in this city. If they were allowed to continue with their activities here, it could lead to anarchy,” Itoc told The Jakarta Post in Cimahi.

He said complaints against the group, mostly from Muslims, stemmed from a difference in belief. Ahmadis believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be the last prophet of Islam, while the majority of Muslims believe Muhammad was the last prophet.

Itoc said these opposing beliefs have led to deep divisions between the two groups. Ahmadiyah members have reportedly been evicted from several areas by mobs of mainstream Muslims.

“We have asked Ahmadiyah followers to explain themselves to the public at the local military command, but they didn’t turn up. We fear disgruntled residents will resort to anarchy and disrupt public order,” he said.

To effect the ban, Itoc said six Ahmadiyah mosques were cordoned off to prevent the group’s members congregating, and the mosques’ signboards were taken down.

“We have notified them of this,” Itoc said.

He said he was prepared for any legal action by the Ahmadiyah in the wake of the ban, which he would revise only if the government issued a joint order from three ministers legalizing the group.

“We are not dissolving Ahmadiyah, only urging them not to engage in activities that could provoke unrest. They are welcome to mount a legal challenge. I enacted the order with the full support of the Indonesian Ulema Council, the police, the prosecutor’s office and the military,” said Itoc.

He said the local chapter of the Coordinating Board for the Supervision of Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) had recommended the sect be banned on Nov. 28 last year.

He denied the decision was made to appease the government or special interest groups.

An Ahmadiyah mosque on Jl. Kolonel Masturi in Cimahi was empty on Thursday. A local resident, Herman, 26, said people rarely congregated there other than for Friday prayers.

“The congregation is small, not like at other mosques,” he said.

To avoid mob violence, Ahmadiyah authorities put up banners saying they would abide by the mayor’s order and not congregate, pending an official decision on their status from the government.

Mochammad Rafii, spokesman for the Cimahi chapter of Ahmadiyah, said the municipality’s actions were regrettable.

He said, “They should clarify the prohibitions. Is praying as a congregation prohibited? Prayer is communication between people and God. Is that a crime?” Cimahi municipality in West Java has followed Sukabumi and Kuningan regencies in banning the Islamic sect Ahmadiyah, despite no formal ban from the central government.

Mayor Itoc Tochiya issued the order on May 6, a day after the local chapter of the Coordinating Board for the Supervision of Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem) recommended municipal authorities ban the sect for heresy.

Head of the Cimahi chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Hafidz Sayuti, said the council urged the municipality to issue the ban “to protect sect members”.

Sukabumi and Kuningan regencies, also in West Java, earlier issued orders banning the sect. These local actions come as the central government considers a nationwide ban on Ahmadiyah.

A mosque belonging to the sect in Parakan Salak, Sukabumi, was burned down on April 28 by Muslims demanding the government outlaw the group.

More than 50 families who are followers of the sect have been evicted from their villages in Ketapang, West Nusa Tenggara, and are now staying in temporary shelters at government buildings in Mataram.

Sayuti said the Cimahi chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council had investigated the sect and found they continued to treat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet and that their teachings deviated from mainstream Islamic tenets.

“Wouldn’t it minimize social tension if they stopped their activities?” Sayuti said Wednesday.

Cimahi is home to thousands of Ahmadis, one of the biggest concentrations of members in West Java, along with Sukabumi, Kuningan, Bogor and Bandung.

The ban was greeted by protests not only by Ahmadiyah members but also by an interfaith group, AKUR, which accused municipal authorities of ignoring human rights and violating the Constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom.

AKUR coordinator Yaman Didu said the ban was contrary to the Constitution, which protects the rights of citizens and enshrines freedom of religion.

“We demand the mayor revoke the decision and retract statements published in the media,” Didu said.

Head of the Bandung region Ahmadiyah youth wing, Zaki Firdaus, said the mayor had acted arbitrarily.

“We believe we have been carrying out our responsibilities as good citizens, so please treat us correctly,” Zaki said.

He urged the central government to settle this issue fairly and wisely, in line with the Constitution and human rights.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

JAKARTA, April 28 (Reuters) - Hundreds of hardline Indonesian Muslims burnt a mosque early on Monday belonging to a sect that has been branded heretical by most Muslims, police said. The attack in West Java's Sukabumi district came after a government team recommended this month the Ahmadiyya sect be banned because its teachings deviate from the central tenets of Islam. Sukabumi police chief Guntor Gaffar told Reuters the attack followed an ultimatum by the Jamaatul Mubaligin Forum on Friday to the Ahmadiyyas to remove a signboard from the mosque in two days. He said a policeman guarding the mosque was hurt in the attack and police were questioning eight people in connection with the incident. The Ahmadiyyas refuse to accept the Prophet Mohammad as Islam's final prophet, and claim their founder to be a prophet and messiah. The sect views itself as Muslim but has been branded a heretical group by the Indonesian Ulema Council, the secular country's highest Muslim authority. Earlier this month, an Indonesian government team, which includes officials from the religious affairs ministry, recommended the government ban the sect because its teachings deviate from the central tenets of Islam. An Ahmadiyya spokesman told reporters in Jakarta the agency's recommendation to ban the group on the grounds that it is heretical had led to increased destruction of its mosques. "The recommendation has caused an escalation of mosque destruction run by Ahmadiyyas across Indonesia," the spokesman, Shamsir Ali, told reporters. In the past, Islamic radicals have damaged mosques and other property belonging to Ahmadiyya followers in Indonesia. Ali said the destruction had increased since the government agency's announcement this month and four mosques had been attacked in less than a month. Mainstream Muslims reject Ahmadiyya's claim of the prophethood of its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who died in 1908 in India. Most Muslims believe that Mohammad is the last of the prophets. Estimates of the Ahmaddiya population in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, vary. Experts peg the number at about 200,000, but Ali said the sect has more than two million followers. About 85 percent of Indonesia's 226 million people are Muslim. Most Indonesian Muslims are moderate and tolerate other beliefs. (Reporting by Telly Nathalia; Writing by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by Sugita Katyal and David Fogarty)